The End of the Earth and Back
by Lizicia
Summary: 'She finds him at the end of the earth. And he doesn't have to understand any of it to know what it means, so he lets her stay, without asking anything in return.' Annie/Eyal, futurefic, AU for now.


**A/N:** Here I am, with a new CA fic! The finale was, wow, breathtaking and heartbreaking. I don't like the feeling that Eyal is going to go off sailing and Annie with Auggie isn't my preferred choice but I'm willing to wait what next season will bring.

This story was born out of daydreaming, as always, and is rather AU. It is set in the future, so maybe it could become true - hope dies last - and I can be the first one to write it down. So, here it goes.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

* * *

Day 1

Eyal Lavine is sitting on the waterfront, looking out at the clear blue Aegean Sea when he feels someone watching him. And not just watching, surveilling. He keeps looking ahead, trying to determine who it could be. A friend? An enemy? Someone trying to kill him or merely interested in a middle-aged man sitting alone at the harbor?

Then, another sense kicks in, one he's not accustomed to any more and he smiles. He knows exactly who it is.

So he takes the long route home, walking along the seafront, taking in the beauty of it all as if he has no care in the world. All the way, he feels eyes on him but it's not until he's standing in front of his house that he turns around.

"You finally made it, _neshema_."

The woman he addresses that sentence to looks like he remembers, or so he thinks, until he notices the carefully crafted impassive mask of emotionless on her face but manages to catch a mere glimpse of annoyance at the greeting.

"Don't call me that."

Her voice is different, cool and quiet but commanding presence.

"Why not?"

"Because it's not true."

He quirks an eyebrow at the defiance in her face, lurking underneath the emotionless facade. Suddenly he isn't so sure he knows this person.

"What then? Agent Walker?_ Mrs. Anderson?_"

Now her face blanches a little and for a moment, her composure is gone and Eyal sees a glimpse of who he remembers, of the person she used to be. But she hides it well and he silently applauds her new range of skills, her ability to hide her emotions much better than she used to.

"You know neither one of those is true anymore. So, no."

"How about Annie?"

"If you must."

He shrugs, more in annoyance than nonchalance but he's certain she can't tell, even if he hasn't had to hide his real emotions in years. And Eyal knows she has had more time to become like that, if her act is anything to go by. More than ever, she reminds him of her old boss, Joan, whom he met only once but who was just like Annie is now – cool, unperturbed, forceful and controlled. It's not the Annie Walker he remembers but a different Annie Walker, forged by the years that have passed.

"So, what are you doing here, Annie?"

"Taking a vacation. I take it your offer still stands and I can stay here?"

If her behavior is confusing him, he doesn't let it show and nods. "Of course. Let me show you the spare bedroom."

And just like that, Annie Walker walks back into his life and he isn't sure whether to be glad or confused by it.

* * *

Day 4

"So, why come here now? It's been a long time."

They're sitting on the patio, admiring the view which is directed towards the sea. He hasn't had enough of water after years spent in a desert country and he tries to immerse himself in it as much as he can.

She sips her wine, instead of answering. He thinks of how she refused him when he took out the bottle of Peychaud's, the look in her eyes both startled and angry. She'd said it was too soon and he had put the bottle away, to not be reminded of the Sazeracs he hasn't had a chance to enjoy.

"I mean, it's been seven years. And that is a long time to be quiet and then suddenly appear on my doorstep in the middle of nowhere. How did you find me, anyway?"

She shrugs and a small smile graces her lips for a moment. "It's not hard to find people when you know what you're looking for. And I am a spy, so I had that working for me."

"You mean you _were_ a spy. Because you're not anymore."

She gives him one angry glance and walks away, without a reply. He wasn't expecting her to really tell him anything but he's heard most of it anyway. Heard words like _treason_ paired with_ Jai and Henry Wilcox_ and_ the Campbells,_ whispers of _Mossad_ and_ faked deaths_ and _cover ups_. He's been keeping up with the intelligence community and paid extra attention whenever it mentioned Annie Walker or, in the recent years, Annie Anderson. And when it all ended, he didn't hear of her so he's known for a while. He doesn't have to understand any of it to know what it means, so he lets her stay, without asking anything in return, not even an explanation.

* * *

Day 13

They have settled into a routine which is both comfortable and awkward. He cooks, she cleans, they don't see each other most of the time. She spends her days reading and disappearing for long periods of time, coming back, drenched in sweat and covered in dust. He sails sometimes but mostly looks for her, like he always has but never makes her feel pressured by it.

One day, he finds her by chance. She's climbed the hill adorning the island and made her way up to the ruins of a village. She just sits there, in the middle of a house, in an old alcove, and watches the pines move ever so slowly in the wind. She doesn't look at him but he knows she's heard him coming.

They sit there quietly, not looking at each other and Eyal's lost in thought which is why it catches him by surprise when Annie speaks.

"I quit, you know. Without notice, without anything. Just up and left. But do you know why?"

"You became someone else."

Annie gives him a surprised look, like she wasn't expecting the answer which can explain everything.

"You became accustomed to the things you were supposed to do. You stopped questioning orders and directives, instead blindly believing that what you did was the right thing to do because you were told so. And then, one day, you did something you couldn't take back, something which hurt someone close to you. And suddenly everything you were doing came under question and you weren't sure whether it really was worth it or when exactly you'd stepped over that blurry line between right and wrong."

She tilts her head at him and Eyal knows she sees through it; sees the apology he never really gave her for what he did, seven years ago. It's been a long time coming.

"And I became more like an agent and less like a person. I didn't like it. So I left."

He doesn't have a reply for that because she isn't looking for one. But, deep down, he thinks_ she became me_. He saw the signs the last time they met in Zurich, when she had already lost a part of her innocence, her belief in things being fair and there always being a winner. It's not what he wished for her and he desperately hoped she could come back from it. And she's here now, a bit broken, the vulnerability in her shattered into pieces by years and people. He doesn't know if he can heal her or if she even expects him to.

* * *

Day 27

Nothing much changes between them for two weeks. They only talk if necessary. Eyal notices how Annie becomes more relaxed, gradually. The worry lines around her eyes fade, her skin tans, her hair grows longer and gets lighter and it seems like she's letting go and moving on. But then he catches sight of a photo she uses as a bookmark and something inside him clenches.

He knows the dark-haired man standing next to her, looking at her with an expression of awe and wonder and full of so much love. She, for her part, wears a matching look of pure happiness and he's reminded once again of where he stands.

Eyal doesn't say anything, doesn't even hint at the photo and yet, two days later, he's on the patio and she comes to meet him, voluntarily, not hiding away, like usually.

"Do you think love is all it takes?"

Annie doesn't clarify what she means but he knows without having to ask; they're both intelligent people.

"Love is the first part, everything else is what makes it a challenge."

She absentmindedly touches her bare ring finger and he can't help himself. "For how long?"

Annie squints her eyes as if to try and remember but Eyal sees right through it. There are some things you never have to wonder about.

"The first part, four years. The second, three hundred and eighty-nine days."

He hums, as in quiet contemplation but doesn't say anything more. Four years is two years longer than he could afford to have happiness when he was married.

"So, what happened? I wish I knew. I wish I had all the answers, could trace back to the beginning of the end, could know what I should've done differently. I wish..."

"You were still married?"

But she shakes her head and smiles sadly. "Not with the way things were. I've thought about this a lot. Maybe there was no moment I could point to. Maybe it was never meant to be and we were just fooling ourselves, thinking it sufficed if we loved each other enough. Or maybe four years was all we were going to get. It didn't even get ugly. I didn't hate him, I don't hate him. Is it possible to not hate someone and love them and still not get the happily ever after?"

He lets out a wry chuckle. "You're asking someone who's spent the better part of their life being divorced, not married. I don't have an answer for that. But, for me, I'm good with the love part, the rest of it – not so much."

She turns her attention towards him and gives him a careful glance. "Eyal."

He meets her eyes; this is the first time she has addressed him by his name, has commanded his attention with it, not by words. There's a look in her eyes he finds hard to describe or decipher but it means something.

"Did you love _me_?"

He quirks an eyebrow but keeps a passive front, not giving up anything voluntarily. "Annie. That is not the question you should be asking."

She looks away, upset. He knows that the question she should be asking is one she isn't ready for, as well as the answer.

"When it's time, it's time. Good night, Annie."

He leaves her on the patio. They've got time.

* * *

Day 34

They're fighting about something very inconsequential, like who didn't do the dishes or who left the front gate open. Neither can actually remember how it began but they've ended up on the opposite sides of the room, fiercely staring at each other.

"Why are you even here, Annie? Just tell me what it is that you want because I can't figure it out."

Eyal's drained from the fight, just wanting it to stop and be done with, not carry on into infinity, so the question he poses is one he hasn't repeated since the first day.

"What I want is to have some time to myself. What I want is the chance to just be and not worry about anything for the first time in ten years. Why is it so hard for you to understand?"

"And you have to do it here? Why?"

He doesn't try to be mean but he's tired of not understanding anything.

"I needed a safe place."

"And I was your safe place?"

The words he actually means are _this island_ but the _I_ slips out unnoticed and they both freeze. The tension in the room is different now, not the angry and easy kind but unnerving, charged with the years between them and all the things they aren't saying. It takes one look to pass between them, as if captured in time, and she walks across the room, pushes him hard against the wall and kisses him.

It's not gentle or subtle but fed by urgency and heat and need and she keeps going because he doesn't have it in him to stop. He should but it's been too long since the last time they shared a kiss – once under false pretenses, once while undercover – and he is determined to enjoy it this time.

She's soft and warm and kisses him like she means it, with passion and a bit of desperation underneath it all. He responds with equal fervor, his hands winding up in her hair and flips them over, her back against the wall, him pressing her into it. A slow, long moan escapes her and he rewards her by moving his hands under her shirt, one caressing her back and the other tracing the underline of her breasts.

She doesn't remain passive but scratches his back with her short nails and hooks a leg around his, the newly-achieved contact making them both shudder.

He thinks_ this is it_ and kisses down her neck and the word escapes him, now unbidden.

"_Neshema._"

She freezes and laughs nervously. "Just call me Annie, no need for that."

And just as abruptly as it began, he pulls away at her words. She stares at him, seemingly at a loss as to what has happened but he shakes his head in response.

"If you don't get it...this is a mistake. We shouldn't do this."

And he leaves, taking the warmth with him but leaving a piece of himself behind, as he always does with her.

* * *

Day 37

Three days is how long it takes for her to confront him. He sits on the patio, as always, and looks at the sunset when he hears her walk out and sit next to him. She offers him a glass and he tries hard not to let hope soar inside when he realizes it's Sazerac.

They drink quietly. Eyal won't be the first to talk because he's said enough and even if she's scared, he refuses to find it in him to give her the easy way out. After all, she could've just left and they would've avoided all of it. But now it can mean something.

"It's been a very long time since we last knew each other. How can you know I'm still...that?"

He has to smirk at that and turns in the chair to look at her, really look. And he sees her again, sees the Annie Walker he remembers, who wanted to believe in things, who wanted to do the right thing, who wanted to live, not merely exist.

"If I didn't believe in that, I wouldn't have let you stay."

"There's been so much blood and deceit, Eyal. How can someone like me ever be pure, be a light onto someone?"

"I don't see any of it. But what I do see, Annie, that is still _neshema_."

She smiles softly and relaxes in her chair. Her hand finds his and she squeezes his fingers slightly, feeling his instantaneous reply. They watch the sunset, holding hands and drinking their Sazerac until Annie is ready.

"Do you love me?"

"That part's easy."

A beat of silence passes.

"Annie Lavine has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

* * *

**A/N:** I can say this story caught me by surprise, both by the content and the style which is not how I normally write. So do let me know if it worked for you!


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